


For Forever

by igottoomuchwriting



Series: Dear Evan Hansen Rewrite [2]
Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Awkward, Connor is trying, Evan is trying, Humor, M/M, classmates to friends, no beta we die like men, they are all trying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-01 21:59:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17875616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/igottoomuchwriting/pseuds/igottoomuchwriting
Summary: Connor is hoping to get to know Evan more. Evan is just glad someone other than Jared wants to talk to him





	1. Á La Mode

“What the actual fuck, Hansen.” Evan turned around from his locker to see Jared standing behind him, staring. Evan followed his gaze down to the cast on his arm.

“Oh, uh, yeah…” he trailed off. He doesn’t know how he can explain why Connor Murphy’s name is written in large letters on his arm, there for the whole world to see.

“How’d that happen? He marking his next victim?” Jared laughed after his joke, but a deep frown found its way to Evan’s face.

“Don’t say that, Jared.”

“Dude, chill, it was a joke!” Jared patted him on the shoulder. “He’s never been nice to you, or anyone in this school, so why does it matter?”

“It doesn’t matter why, Jared.” He closed his locker and threw his backpack over his shoulder, turning to his friend. “I don’t, uh, know him, so I’m gonna give him a chance.”

“What has gotten into you?” Jared shoved his hands in his pockets. Evan recognized it as his defense pose that he usually does when his parents start scolding him. “You’ve never been this snippy.” 

Why was he? There was still a ton of anxiety deep down, worry for this fight drawing attention from other kids in the hallway, worry that Jared will keep pushing Evan to the point that he breaks. 

This was all for Connor.

Connor, the kid he hasn’t talked to except a few words when they had sat next to each other in classes. Connor, the kid who pushed a printer off the teacher’s desk in second grade, and everyone in the class clung to the memory of him throwing it at the teacher. Connor, who Evan had never seen smile, never seen at any school event, or with anyone other than his sister. 

“I need to get to English,” Evan finally mumbled. He walked passed Jared without another word, hoping he catches the hint that he doesn’t want to talk anymore. 

The bell rang right as Evan walked into the classroom. Quickly, he hurried back to the corner desk and sat down, laying his head on his hands. The day had barely started, and he was already exhausted.

“Hey,” he heard a voice ask. Evan looked up to see Connor looking at him from the seat next to him, concern in his voice. 

“Uh, hey,” Evan answered, confusion written on his face. Though he just defended him to Jared and had spilled that he had to write weird letters to himself for counseling, he didn’t actually think that Connor would try talking to him again.

“You good?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m--I’m good.” He quickly looked away, trying to hide the tired look in his eye. He didn’t want Connor to see the anxiety that was most likely showing on his face, and possibly miss read it as fear. 

Connor went to say something else, but their teacher had finally put the DOL up on the board, silencing the buzzing class with her voice.

\---

“Wanna go to Á La Mode?” Everyone had started packing up around Evan. Class was over in five minutes, and against the teacher’s protests, everyone decided to stand by the door and talk, as well as sneak a look at their phones. Everyone except Connor and Evan.

“What?” Evan looked up from packing up his paperwork to look at Connor. Connor was staring at him with an uninterested look, as if he wants Evan to think this isn’t a big deal.

“Á La Mode. You know, the ice cream place?” Evan gave him a blank look, to which Connor raised an eyebrow. “Please tell me you’ve been to Á La Mode.”

“I--I haven’t. Sorry.”

“Don’t say sorry,” Connor snapped.

“Sor--Okay,” Evan quickly stopped himself. Connor sighed and turned his head to the side.

“We can go during sixth period, since we both have that free.” Evan just watched Connor, not knowing how to respond.

“I don’t--” He looked down at the floor, playing with the bottom of his shirt. “--I don’t have, uh, money. So I, I can’t. Sorry.”

“I’ll pay for you.” 

Evan snapped his head up so fast he was surprised that he didn’t pop something in his neck.

“No! No, you don’t, you don’t have to, uh, do that.”

“Don’t worry,” Connor said, almost softly, “my parents make so much fucking money. They’ll be ecstatic to see me spending it on something other than weed.” What would  _ his  _ mom think? Evan was sure that she would be upset that Evan didn’t ask for money to hang out a friend--not friend, classmate. She would be happy that he was actually hanging out with someone other than Jared, though.

“O-Okay,” Evan mumbled.

“Cool. I’ll see you then.” Connor just left Evan sitting in his desk, almost as confused as ever. A thought came to his mind and he quickly packed up all of his stuff to run to his next class.

Connor wanted to go during sixth period, but he didn’t tell Evan where they would meet. Would they meet at their lockers, since they were placed so close to each other, or would they meet in the parking lot? How would they get there? Does Connor have a car? Á La Mode is a fair distance away, and there is no way that he and Connor would be able to walk their and back in time for Evan to catch the bus or a ride with Jared. He wouldn’t want Connor to drop him off either, because if Connor saw where he lived, he would be disgusted. 

Connor comes from a rich family, seeing as his dad was a retired baseball player. Evan’s dad left him when he was seven, and since then it’s just been he and his mom working, so they don’t have the nicest house. Evan tries his hardest to keep it clean and looking nice so his mom doesn’t have to worry about anything else, but he doesn’t think it’s anywhere compared to what Connor’s house must look like.

When the second bell rang signaling the start of his class, Evan pushed the thought aside. He could deal with it later.

\---

Evan stood at his locker, packing up his homework for the day when he heard a voice next to him.

“Ready to go?” Evan snapped his head to the side to see Connor standing there. Evan took a deep breath before closing his locker.

“Yeah. How are we, uh, getting there?”

“My parents let me drive to school today,” Connor answered. 

The duo walked against the crowd of students heading to their class, exiting the school. Evan followed Connor to the back of the parking lot to a black truck that looked like it had seen better days. Connor pulled out keys from his pocket and unlocked the car. Evan watched him walk over to the driver side and step in. When he made no move to open the door, Connor rolled down the window. 

“Well?” Evan quickly opened up the door and sat in the passenger seat. 

The drive was silent for the most part. Since they have only spoken once, they really had nothing to talk about to fill the awkward silence. Evan wanted to say something, but he never had the conversation skills. He could barely talk to his therapist, and he has been going to her for years. 

“So why did you want to go to  Á La Mode?” Evan asked. Easy enough. Not a weird question that would make Connor want to pull over and kick Evan out of his car, a reasonable question for someone to ask.

“I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I freaked out over nothing again.” Evan watched his grip tighten on the steering wheel, most likely out of anger. He guessed that he was also apologizing about freaking out on him in the hallway--hence, the ‘again’.

“Oh, it’s, uh, okay,” Evan quickly spit out. Connor looked over at him and gave him a very small smile before looking back out on the road. 

Back into silence.

Evan decided to leave it at that. The silence gave him time to prepare for them to talk over ice cream, to think of questions in that moment. He tried his best to stop his anxiety from spirling from the different questions he came up with. 

Connor pulled into the Á La Mode parking lot quicker than Evan would have liked. He was still thinking of questions to ask the boy. 

As Connor turned off the car, Evan wiped the sweat on his hands onto his pants and stepped out of the car.

“Here it is,” Connor motioned. “The best fucking ice cream place in the whole city.”

“I believe it.” He had nothing to compare it to. His mom would sometimes buy ice cream, but it was usually the off brand kind. Sometimes they would be able to get Tillamook, but that was when they had some left over money to spare. Even though he didn’t have to pay as high as rent as usual because Jared’s parents owned their house, they still had to pay for everything else and that doesn’t leave a lot for them to spend on fun things.

The duo walked into the empty ice cream parlor. Evan could see about twelve different flavors in the freezer by the cashier, with their descriptions on the board behind them. There were five different scoop sizes and three different cones that anyone could buy. It was insane.

“Welcome!” the cashier called with a smile. “What can I get for you gentlemen?” 

“We still need time to look,” Connor politely replied. For some reason, this surprised Evan. Everyone at school has built up the image that Connor was the worst person in the world, that he is always mean to everyone. He could see that Connor wasn’t mean to everyone, but only mean to people that had a reason to be mean. 

The cashier informed them to ring the bell when they were ready to order and disappeared into the back. 

“Do you know what you want?” Connor asked. Evan stared the sign above the freezer, figuring out the cheapest thing that was available.

“Um, single scoop of chocolate?” he mumbled. 

“On…?”

“A sugar cone.” Sugar cones cost nothing extra. That was a safe bet. Connor stared at Evan. Evan shifted under his gaze, avoiding eye contact. 

Saying nothing, Connor stepped up to the register and rang the bell. The cashier came out from the back and smiled at him.

“Ready?”

“Yeah. Can I get a sugar cone with two scoops of moose tracks, and another sugar cone with two scoops of chocolate.” Evan snapped his head up to Connor. Two scoops was not what he said. That was $1.50 more than the single scoop. 

“Um, I don’t-” 

“That it for you today?” the cashier spoke over him. 

“Yep.” Connor never acknowledged Evan trying to speak up. Evan watched as Connor pulled a twenty out of his wallet and handed it to the cashier. After she gave him his change, she started making the cones for them. 

“Uh, you didn’t have to do that,” Evan stuttered.

“I wanted to.” Connor didn’t look Evan in the eye. Evan pursed his lips together and looked down at the ground.

“Thank you.”

“Here you guys go!” Connor grabbed both of the ice cream cones and handed Evan his. 

The two boys sat down at one of the tables that the parlor had set outside, both feeling awkward with staying inside with the worker.

It was silent for a good two minutes. Neither teen knew what to say. Evan wanted to try though. That’s what his mom always said, for him to try and opening up.

“How are you?” Great starting question, Evan. Connor raised an eyebrow.

“Good. You?”

“Good.” Back to square one. Connor looked back inside Á La Mode and Evan looked down towards the ground.

“How long have you and Jared been family friends?” 

“His mom had helped me and my mom find a place to stay.” It was a simple answer. It didn’t give away too much information about his life, but it explained everything perfectly. 

Connor nodded his head. Evan looked down at the table as he ate his ice cream, thinking of more questions. One questions was burning in the back of his mind. He really wanted to ask it, but he didn’t know if he wanted to know the answer. 

“So, uh,” he stuttered out. Connor watched him patiently. Evan wiped his hand on his pant leg before taking a deep breath. “Why-Why did you think that the, uh, letter was for you?”

“I didn’t.”

“No, I mean, why did you think that I purposely wrote it?” Connor looked down at the table. Evan watched as he pushed his hair back, deep in thought.

“I’m used to people trying to mess with me or piss me off purposely.”

“Like Jared?” Evan asked. Connor seemed to glare at the table when he heard the boy’s name.

“Yeah.” 

“I didn’t.” Connor gave him a confused look. Evan stopped and looked away, stuttering out, “Write it to mess with you, I mean. I would never.”

Connor gave him a small smile, but said nothing.

Soon they were both done with their ice cream cones. School was over soon, and Connor had to meet up with Zoe, so they made their way to Connor’s car.

Evan was still anxious about everything. He wondered if this was a plan to mock Evan, or if he wanted Evan to owe him because he bought him ice cream. If Connor was going to laugh at Evan if he tried talking to him again after this, or if he was only doing this because he wanted everyone to see that he was actually a nice person and was only using Evan for pity points.

Even if this was all true, even if Connor would never speak to him again after this, Evan was content. It was awkward hanging out with Connor, both of them not knowing what to say, but Evan had fun. 

One the drive back, they were able to make conversation. They learned a little more about each other--Evan’s favorite color was blue, Connor’s favorite book was  _ The Outsiders _ \--and break the barrier of social awkwardness that both of them had.

“Are you looking at any colleges?” Evan asks. It was a cliche question, but Evan was genuinely curious. He did like hearing his classmates talk about the colleges they would love go to, even if thinking about his choices or what he would do for money would cause him anxiety.

“I’m not going to college,” Connor answered. It almost seemed that the grip on his steering wheel had gotten a little tighter. 

“Oh. Uh, not a college person?” They stopped at the intersection before they reached the school. Connor turned his head slightly to look at Evan, before looking back at the road.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, “something like that.” Evan looked down at his lap, suddenly feeling like he crossed a line. Maybe they were always pushing on Connor at home for looking into colleges?

 

They pulled up to the school right as the bell rang. Evan cursed under his breathe and quickly unbuckled his seatbelt. 

“Thanks for hanging out,” Connor said. Evan turned back to him and smiled.

“Thank you for buying me ice cream.” Evan turned away and was about to close the door when he heard the door when he heard Connor speak.

“Wait!” Evan turned around and saw Connor gripping his steering wheel, staring straight forward.

“Do you have a phone?”

“Yeah?” he asked, confused.

“Can I have your number?” Evan was shocked. He only had four contacts in his phone--his mom, his therapist, Jared, and his dad. No one has ever wanted to number so that they could talk, but here Connor was, openly asking for it.

Are they becoming friends?

“S-Sure!” Connor pulled out his phone and typed in Evan’s phone number as he spoke. Evan felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he guess Connor texted him. 

“You should probably go. The busses are leaving soon.” Evan turned his head to see a bus to see one bus pull out. Without even saying goodbye, Evan rushed to his bus. He couldn’t afford to miss it, because he would be stuck walking home and he really didn’t want to be the senior that was walking home.

He pulled out his headphones after he sat in his seat so that he could ignore the kids around him,and make sure that no one would talk to him unexpectdiely. When he turned on his phone, he saw that he had new messages.

Jared Kleinman:  _ dude _

Jare Kleinman:  _ did i just see u leave connor murphy’s truck????? _

Jared Kleinman:  _ y r u talkin 2 him _

Evan decided to ignore him. He really didn’t have the energy to explain that Connor was trying to make up for scaring him in the computer lab, or explain the whole situation. He would ask how it went, what happened, probably make fun of Evan and fuel his anxiety, and then he would spiral into an anxiety attack.

Just, not a good time.

He scrolled past those messages and saw the final one under them all.

Maybe: Connor:  _  this is my number _

Evan sort of chuckled to himself. It seemed Connor was as awkward over text message as he is in person.

Evan added him into his contacts and closed his phone, deciding to just watch out the window as the bus took him home.

Maybe Connor Murphy wasn’t as bad as everyone said he was.


	2. The Field

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor takes Evan to the orchard

Connor Murphy:  _ i stg if this mom doesnt chill tf out i will find where she lives and fight her _

It has been a month since Connor and Evan started talking. At first, it was awkward, but slowly they broke the barrier through text messages and small conversations during English. Slowly they were learning more and more about each other.

Connor loved to read. Any book that they read as a class, Connor loved, even if it was an older one that everyone else thought was boring. One day in English, Connor had overheard a kid talking about how much they hated  _ Pride and Prejudice  _ and Connor started whispering to Evan about how the kid didn’t no good literature, how Lizzy was a feminist icon of the time, Darcy was the best boy and the romance was correctly written and “he was just pissy because he is a fucking  _ white boy  _ that doesn’t understand the hardships that women of those days have had to go through!”

He also loved TLC shows, especially  _ Say Yes To The Dress. _ That was a shock to Evan, but Connor was talking about different dress one day and Evan was curious on how he knew. Connor was nervous to share, but he knew that he could trust Evan.

That’s what he was texting Evan about now. Hulu had put out new episodes and Connor was watching them while live texting Evan about everything that is going on.

 

Connor Murphy:  _ SHES CRYING NOW AND THE MOM STILL WONT BUDGE _

Connor Murphy:  _ thats it _

Connor Murphy:  _ im flying to georiga. Ill see you later evan _

Evan Hansen:  _ I know you have that ability so please dont _

Connor Murphy:  _ like my parents would let me _

Evan Hansen: _Find something nice in Georgia that your mom would love to see. I’m sure_ _that will get her going_

Connor Murphy:  _ well which is it hansen _

Connor Murphy:  _ should i go punch this lady in the face or no _

Evan Hansen:  _ Definite no _

 

Evan never really was interested in those shows, but he did watch one episode to see what he loved so much about it. It was a good show, and he really did love Randy and most of the brides that came through the shop. His mom had walked in when he had it on the TV, which sparked a conversation of how they were and who Evan liked.

“You know this is a safe place, honey!” Heidi had cooed. 

“I know,” Evan mumbled, looking down at the ground awkwardly.

Since then, he’s been trying to pointedly show that he likes girls, and  _ only  _ girls.

 

Connor Murphy:  _ oh good the bride won _

Evan Hansen:  _ With Randy on her side, how could she not _

Connor Murphy:  _ true _

Connor Murphy:  _ shit _

Connor Murphy:  _ my mom is home _

Connor Murphy:  _ i have to go to my bed and pretend to get some sleep _

Connor Murphy:  _ night _

Evan Hansen:  _ Goodnight _

 

Evan decided that he should probably go to bed too. He had a test tomorrow, and he needed to sleep so he wouldn’t freak out as much when the time came.

He quickly turned off the TV and headed back up to his room.

\---

Evan did not get any sleep. Right as he was about to fall asleep, his mom came home. Since he was still delirious, he thought it was a burglar. Suddenly he was awake and on alert, ready to do what he needed to.

Without getting out of bed and drawing attention to himself, of course.

He stumbled off of the bus, shoulders slouched over and tired look in his eyes. His classmates shoved past him in a hurry to get to the cafeteria for breakfast, but Evan just slowly made his way to his locker.

“Acorn!” he heard Jared call. Evan turned around to see Jared walking towards him, same amount of confidence in his walk as he always had. His backpack was slung over his shoulder, so Evan assumed that his first period teacher is either late or has a sub who is late.

“Please don’t call me that,” Evan mumbled.

“Aw, come on! It’s a term of endearment. All fun and games, ya know?” He threw his arm over Evan’s shoulder and they continued the walk to their locker. “It’s a playful jab at a silly mistake you made.”

Evan’s hand shot to his cast, holding onto it gently. 

Yeah. A silly mistake.

“I’m gonna come over today after school. My mom’s been wondering why we haven’t been hanging out lately.” 

“Oh. Uh, okay.” 

“You still got Mario Kart, right?” Evan nodded his head. It was the last gift his dad had gotten him before he left, and even though Evan is not fond of his dad, he still tries to hang on to when life was good. 

“Cool! Then we can play that today!” Evan just nodded his head again and opened up his locker. Jared continued to talk about a girl--or the same girl that he met over the summer, he doesn’t know anymore--and Evan turned his head to the side to see Connor at his locker. He was slouched over and seemed to be angrily putting stuff into his backpack.

“Sorry, uh,” Evan spoke, interrupting Jared’s sentence, “I’m gonna go talk to Connor.”

“Really?” Jared turned to look at Connor as threw a book into his locker. He flinched. “I don’t think you wanna talk to that dude right now. He seems like he is in a bad mood.”

“That’s why I wanna, um, talk to him.” He started playing with the bottom of his t-shirt. “I want to see if he’s okay.”

“Your funeral, man,” he said with a shrug. He gave Evan one last violent pat on his shoulder before walking away.

Evan closed his locker and took a deep breath. Connor hasn’t been in a super bad mood since they started talking, so Evan was worried if Connor would even want to talk to him or not.

“Hey Connor,” he mumbled. Connor whipped his head around and shot a glare at Evan.

“What?” he snapped. Evan took a step back and looked down at the ground.

“Well you seem like you’re in a bad mood so I wanted to come over and see if you’re okay but you barely know me so I don’t know why you would even want to talk to me about it. I’m sorry I should’ve have even come over, I’ll leave, I’m sorry,” Evan stuttered out. All his words started blending together and he was stumbling over his words. 

Connor sighed and hit his head against the top of the locker. 

“No, I didn’t mean to snap at you. You did nothing wrong.” Evan glanced up at him before looking back down. 

“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me,” he mumbled. Connor was silent for a moment. Evan was just about to turn around and leave him alone when he started talking.

“My parents took my fucking phone last night because they didn’t believe that I was texting someone other than a fucking drug dealer. I told them that no goddamn drug dealer would be answering fucking calls at that hour because they were trying to act like normal  _ fucking  _ people but they took my phone anyway!” He slammed his locker closed and Evan jumped. “They don’t believe a  _ fucking  _ thing I say and it pisses me off because I was actually telling the truth this time!”

Evan looked around the hallway and saw people giving Connor both confused and dirty looks. He didn't know what to do. Jared never came to him for emotional things, and since Jared has been his only friend growing up, he never had anyone else come to him for anything. The closest that he has come to comforting someone was when he walked in on his mom having a breakdown, but even then she turned it around and made sure that he was okay.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “That’s--That, um, sucks.”

“Understatement of the fucking century,” Connor grumbled. 

The first bell rang, signaling that students have five minutes to get to class. Connor turned towards the doors at the end of the hallway.

“Wait, where are you going?” Evan anxiously called. 

“Anywhere but fucking here.” With that, he was gone.

Evan watched Connor’s dark figure disappear around the corner outside, wondering if he should tell someone. What was Connor going to do? Would he hurt someone?

Would he hurt himself?

“Get to class, Mr. Hansen!” Evan heard a teacher call. Evan looked behind him to see Ms. Asher--the English teacher that no one liked--raising an eyebrow at him. Saying nothing, Evan moved on to his first class.

\---

Evan hasn’t seen Connor all day. It was lunch time now and the boy still wasn’t here. Since they started talking more, he and Connor started sitting together at lunch. Connor never ate anything, and Evan did try, but sometimes his anxiety became too much and he just couldn’t stomach what the school was giving him. During those days, Connor tried his best to calm Evan down enough to where he would get Evan to each at least some bland tater tots. 

That wasn’t the case today. He sat alone in the corner of the cafeteria, untouched food in front of him. 

It’s not like he wasn’t used to this. Jared would never sit by him, always opting to work on programming by himself and not be seen with Evan, and since he had no other friends, he was pushed to the corner of the room.

Evan was deep in thought when he heard a voice.

“Evan Hansen?” Evan snapped his head up, only to freeze when he saw Zoe Murphy standing there, kind smile on her face.

“Oh, uh, yeah. That’s me,” he stuttered out. How long has she been standing there? Was she just waiting for Evan to notice her?

“Sorry to bother you, but can I ask you a question?” Oh okay, straight to the point. Evan wiped his palms on his jeans.

“Yeah! Yeah, of course.”

“Are you and my brother friends?” That’s not what he was expecting. 

Are they friends? He doesn’t know if Connor considers Evan a friend, but does Evan?

“Uh, yeah,” he drew out. “Yeah, I guess.”

Zoe raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. She looked around the lunch room before sitting down across from Evan.

Oh God.

“Do you guys text?”

“Yeah, why?” Did something happen? Why would she need to know if they texted?

“Were you guys texting last night?” 

“Yes?” Evan was about to have an anxiety attack. Did Connor tell her? Did Connor spill everything that Evan told him? Is Zoe making sure that this is the Evan Hansen that he is talking to so that she can go around and tell everyone? 

“Okay,” she mumbled. She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “I’m sorry for asking these questions, but Connor got his phone taken away yesterday and my parents wanted to see if who he was texting went to our school.”

“Oh.” Great, so Connor’s parents read their text messages? There was private stuff in there. He hasn’t even met these people and they already know his fears? Did Connor delete the texts he sent when he was having a mental breakdown? 

“I haven’t seen the messages!” she quickly added. “My parents only asked if I knew the name ‘Evan Hansen’ and so I wanted to make sure it was you.”

“Okay,” he mumbled. They sat in a silence for a moment, neither knowing what to say.

Zoe broke the silence.

“When did you two start talking?” The questions continue.

“About a month ago?” 

“Why?” Well that’s not going to be shared. How would Evan even say that? Yeah, you’re brother stole something of mine and flipped out on me but I was able to calm him down and get it back and now we are basically becoming best buds!

No.

“He, uh, wanted to apologize for getting mad at me in the hallway on the first day of school.” That was kind of the truth.

“And you guys kept talking because…?”

“He was nice.” Zoe immediately rolled her eyes. Oh no. Did he say something wrong?

“He’s not nice, Evan.”

“Wh-What?”

“He’s a druggie who will turn on you when you make one little mistake.” Evan stared at Zoe in disbelief. Here is Connor’s sister, who is known for being happy and helping others, staring at Evan with an angry look in her eye. She’s spending her time, giving Evan a warning.

“He--I don’t think--would he really?”

“He’s done it to me countless times.” Before Evan could say anything else, she stood up. “I’m not telling you what you should do. I’m just warning you that my brother is a loose canon.” With that, she left.

Evan stared at the spot she had just occupied. Zoe has obviously been with Connor her whole life and she knows more than Evan. If she is giving him a warning, he should listen.

Shouldn’t he?

\---

When it was sixth period, Evan didn’t know what to do. Surprisingly, he didn’t have any homework to do for that day. He didn’t want to write a letter to his therapist either, as the only thing that happened today was talking to Zoe.

He decided to walk home. It was the last period of the day, and no one was going to be waiting for him. He also wanted to make sure his house was clean before Jared came over. 

Evan didn’t get far off of campus before a truck pulled up next to him. With his headphones in, he didn’t hear the driver call out to him. He  _ did  _ hear the car horn, however.

He whipped his head to see Connor sitting in the truck, looking at him threw the passenger window. He quickly pulled out his headphones.

“Connor?” he asked. 

“Get in, Hansen.” Evan didn’t question, he just walked across the grass dividing the street and the sidewalk and into Connor’s car.

Connor pulled out into the road before Evan could buckle his seatbelt fully.

It was silent between the two. Evan wanted to know where Connor went in the beginning of the day, if he was doing better, if he was okay in general. 

“I didn’t mean to flip out on you earlier,” Connor stated. 

“I know,” Evan mumbled. It was silent again. You would think after talking for a month, they would be a little better at talking to each other.

Evan watched all the trees go by. The radio was playing in the background, and the sky was blue with only a few clouds. Always a little strange for October weather.

“Have you ever been to the orchard?” Connor asked. Evan shot him a confused look.

“What orchard?” 

“So I’ll take that as a no.” 

“Where is it?” Evan asked. 

“Well, it’s closed now, but it was almost like a forest reserve for people to go to. You could have picnics, there was a creek, all that fun stuff.” Evan hummed. 

The rest of the car ride was filled with small talk. At some point, they had gotten onto the topic of bands they liked, and it blew up from there.

“You’ve  _ never  _ heard of Hollywood Undead?” Connor laughed. “How the fuck have you not?”

“They’re not a very popular band, obviously,” Evan shot back. Connor turned to him with a look as if he had personally attacked Connor’s work himself.

“They  _ are  _ popular!”

“Sure, Connor.”

“You shut the fuck up, Mr. ‘Taylor Swift is a better country singer than pop’.”

“Well, she is--”

“You have no taste.”

It wasn’t long before they reached where Connor was taking them. Evan looked around as Connor turned off the car and saw trees everywhere, as well as a gate with a sign that said “NO TRESPASSING”.

“Uh, what are we, uh, doing here?” Evan asked.

“We’re gonna walk around.”

“W-Wait, what?”

“Come on, Hansen,” Connor called, ignoring the panic rising in the boy. He hopped out of the car and Evan quickly followed, leaving his backpack in the car.

“We can’t go in!” he called out. Connor rolled his eyes.

“Trust me, it’s fine.”

“What if someone finds us? What if they see your car and come searching and then we get in trouble? What if we get arrested? I can’t have my mom bail me out of jail, and your parents won’t--”

“Evan!” Connor yelled. Evan immediately stopped talking. “It’s fine. I come here all the time. I was just here earlier, and no one found me. No one even thinks about this place anymore.”

Evan nodded his head in understanding and looked down at the ground. He heard Connor take a deep breath.

“Just… Come on. You can trust me.” 

Evan followed Connor to the fence. Right under the trespassing sign was a cut part of the fence that looked like it was able to be pushed back. Connor pushed the fence piece back and held it open, motioning for Evan to make his way through.

Evan made it on the other side, careful with his cast, and Connor followed suit. Evan looked around in amazement. How come this place was abandoned?

“This place got closed down after they opened up the park as a national park,” Connor answered his unasked question. “Apparently people feel like going to a national park would be more fun than an orchard, even though it’s the same fucking thing.”

Connor stared walking into the trees and Evan was quick to follow. 

It was gorgeous. It was a surprise that he has never seen this place. His mom and dad would always love to take them out and show him the nature, the flowers, the birds. It was a big part of his life, and a big reason why he loved trees. Participating in the Junior Ranger program was a way for him to try and go back to those times. 

Happier times.

“So homecoming’s coming up,” Connor stated. “You going?”

“Well, uh, probably not?” Those kind of things were never Evan’s thing.

“Even if a cute girl asked you out?” Connor laughed as Evan blushed. The only girl Evan would even want to ask him out is Zoe, but after their conversation, he has been questioning his relationship with her.

“If someone asked me out, that’d be a shock in itself.”

Connor laughed. “Fair enough.”

“What about you?” Evan asked. “You going?”

“No. No way.”

“Not even if a girl asks you?”

“There’s no girl that could make me go to any dance.” Evan hummed. 

“What if your crush asked you? There is a girl you like, right?” Connor gave him a side look and coughed.

“Yeah. A girl…” He didn’t say anything after, and Evan didn’t want to push it, so they fell back into silence. 

“We’re here.” Evan gave him a confused look. 

“Wait, where?”

“Look.” Evan looked anxiously at the space past the trees Connor motioned to before walking forward.

Past the trees was a big open grass field, surrounded by trees. The wind was blowing the long grass gently and the sun was peeking out from behind the threes, just getting ready to set for the night. 

Evan was in shock. This place was gorgeous.

“I assume you like it?” he heard Connor call. 

Evan shook his head. “Connor, this--this is amazing! How did you find it?”

“I was just walking around one day and stumbled upon it.” 

Evan stared at the whole place. Connor watched him with a smile.

“You said you like to climb trees, right?” Connor asked. Evan stiffened up.

“Um, yeah,” he stuttered out.

“Come on. There’s a tree with really low branches.” Connor started walking away towards a tree that Evan saw stuck out from the rest. It was slightly out of the circle of trees, and Evan understood why Connor chose that one. The branches are definitely lower than the others, and easier for the boys to reach.

“I--I don’t think I can climb right now,” Evan called towards him. Connor turned and gave him a confused look.

“Why not?” Evan just held up his cast. Connor looked at for a second before realization hit. “Fuck, that’s right. I’m a fucking moron.”

“Sorry,” Evan shrugged.

“Why are you sorry?”

“You wanted to climb the tree, and I can’t.” Connor sighed and shook his head. 

“That’s not your fault, man.” Evan nodded his head and decided not to say anything else.

His phones started buzzing in his pocket. He quickly pulled it out to see who is was.

It was Jared.

“Shit,” he mumbled under his breath. Connor was next to him now, looking down at his phone. 

“Kleinman? What does that fucker want?” Evan opted to not comment on Connor’s obvious hatred of Jared.

“I forgot I was supposed to hang out with him today.” He hit answer and turned away.

“ _ Evan! Where are you?” _

“I’m sorry, I was walking home but Connor wanted to hang out--”

“ _ Connor? Connor Murphy? You’re with him right now?” _

“Yes, I’m sorry, I am headed back right now--”

“ _ Did he kidnap you or something, dude? You guys never hang out outside of school. I never even thought the guy was stable enough to do something.” _

Evan anxiously shot a look at Connor, but he was picking at his nail polish, so Evan was sure he didn’t hear Jared.

“He can. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I’m heading back now. Just go inside, I’ll be home soon, ignore the mess.”

“ _ Whatever you say dude. Bye.” _

With that, Jared hung up. Evan turned back to Connor, fiddling with his phone.

“I’m sorry Connor, can we--”

“Yeah, we can go back.” Connor clipped. Evan flinched. He looked down at the ground anxiously.

“Sorry, this was fun, but--”

“I know,” Connor forced a smile across his face. “You and Jared had plans. Nothing wrong with that.”

Connor started walking away, and Evan couldn’t help but get the feeling that Connor was truly upset.

He quickly followed Connor back to his car and tired to calm down his anxiety. 

“Thank you for taking me here,” Evan said when they got back into Connor’s truck.

“Yeah. We can come back.” Evan looked down to hide a smile.

Connor actually wanted to hang out with him again. Hang out, in public, for no reason other than to hang out with Evan.

Is this was real friendship is like?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this seems long?? I was gonna add more but it just didn't flow. So there are things that will come up in the future from this chapter (*cough* Zoe *cough*).   
> I hope that I'm getting their personalities across right? I feel Connor would be really nice to a friend but obviously slip ro be awkward and not know how to apologize. Evan is anxious boy and Jared is an asshole right now. Very much so. More on that later.
> 
> Come talk to me on Tumblr!: igottoomuchwriting

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is, the second part of the story! It's kinda long, which is nice, but it's not done! I decided to make this song multi part because I didn't just want to jump straight to them being friends. So there is more coming! When????? I don't know. No one knows. That's the joy of writing!
> 
> Come talk to me on Tumblr!: igottoomuchwriting


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